David Jimenez can throw a party. As vice president of visual merchandising and store design for Hallmark Cards, you might think he’d be spent at the end of the day, zapped of energy and creative juice. Not so. Having been a guest at his Kansas City, Missouri, home at intimate dinner parties for six and outrageous cocktail bashes for 150, I’ve always felt that every effort—and there are many—was made on my behalf. This, I find, is what gives a party its juice. Are such talents a gift? They are, but even if that zest is a you-have-it-or-you-don’t kind of thing, here Jimenez offers some practical advice to help ensure that your next party has lift.

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